Kat's Notebook » F4

K-drama marathon

Katkat — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 01:47:00 +0000

Before I hit the books again, I decided to catch up on some interesting korean dramas. Thankfully our internet here in the US is faster than in the Philippines so I was able to video-stream easily. My source of korean dramas were mysoju.net and dramacrazy.net. My younger brother also downloaded some dramas so I was able to watch it uninterruptedly. I was able to watch 2 which when come to think of it weren’t much but with 16 episodes each, I believed I had enough of korean dramas for now.

You’re Beautiful

It’s about a nun apprentice who winded up joining a popular guy band in order to fulfill her twin brother’s contract to the music company. Go Min Ah with the help of her brother’s manager, disguised as a guy to infiltrate the boy band because her brother had a minor cosmetic surgery accident and couldn’t show his face to the public yet. However one of the guys, Tae Kyung, found out that she’s a girl and he wanted to reveal her fraud. But when Go Min Ah pleaded to stay until she could find her parents, Tae Kyung conceded. Although they got along like cats and dogs, hilarity ensues when both of them tried to keep the truth from coming out.

This drama was ok for me. There were a lot of funny scenes especially with Tae Kyung. But as for the twist and romance, there weren’t much. The main guy didn’t appeal to me like the guys in Boys Before Flowers however his character was especially funny whenever he dropped his tough exterior. I didn’t like the ending too because it wasn’t romantic.

Mischievous Kiss

This drama was adapted from a Japanese manga and it was first made into a drama by Taiwan. Oh Ha Ni had a crush on Baek Seung Jo for most of her high school life. She gave him a love letter and confessed only to be mocked by Seung Jo when he returned it back and made corrections on the letter. His words “I hate stupid girls the most.” shattered her dream of having him as a boyfriend. One day their house suddenly collapsed and her father went to his old childhood friend for help. They were welcomed into the house only to find out that it’s the house of Seung Jo. Oh Ha Ni was ecstatic but Seung Jo made it clear that she’s a pest. But as they go on with their lives living in close proximity, the calm and detached life that Seung Jo has always lived was now invaded by Oh Ha Ni and both of them mixed like oil and water with Seung Jo’s mother joining in the fray.

I liked this drama. I enjoyed watching the Taiwanese version but I liked this version better. The main characters were pretty people unlike in Taiwanese version. I liked how Seung Jo’s character developed from cold to exasperated whenever Oh Ha Ni caused trouble. The drama took out the unimportant details which the Taiwanese version dragged on making it a very long show, which I didn’t like. I loved Seung Jo’s mother the best because she was pushing Oh Ha Ni towards Seung Jo. This drama was romantic and funny with a touch of light drama and I would recommend it.

Korean movies and dramas in a nutshell

Katkat — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 01:51:27 +0000

I grew up watching Asian dramas/movies. First it was Mexican telenovela popularized by Thalia. Then when the Meteor Garden or F4 series exploded in TV and in the Asian culture, my watching preference extended to Taiwanese, then Korean, then Japanese dramas and movies. Lately, I’ve been disappointed that I’m not finding any new, cute or impressive Asian dramas/movies, particularly the Korean ones. Same story formulas are recycled again and again in the newer shows. The novelty of My Sassy Girl or Autumn’s Tale which left quite an impression was not reproduced again.

If you have watched a lot of Korean movies and dramas, you’ll find that their stories revolved from ongoing themes and getting out of the box seems difficult to do. Here are my observations with Korean shows:

1. There is always a love triangle. Winter Sonata, Autumn’s Tale, Lovers in Paris, The Classic, My wife got married, Wedding, Sad love song

2. Someone always die of a disease and is usually the main character. Autumn’s Tale, …Ing, A love to Kill, A Millionaire’s First Love, Stairway to Heaven, Witch Yoo Hee, 100 days with Mr. Arrogant, Windstruck

3. The hero or heroine usually meets his/her partner by owing him/her money. Coffee Prince, Full House, The Snow Queen, She is Nineteen, My Girl, My Name is Kim Sam Soon, Only You

4. There is power struggle over business or inheritance. Cinderella Man, Lovers in Paris, What Happened in Bali, Love Story in Harvard

5. The character involves himself in bad gangs and violent fighting. Volcano High, My Wife is a Gangster, Dirty Carnival, Gangster High

6. There is amnesia and sudden personality change. Save the Last Dance, Stairway to Heaven, 18 vs 29, Winter Sonata

7. The main protagonists are childhood sweethearts lost and reconciled. Spring Waltz, Stairway to Heaven, Love Story in Harvard, Smile Again, My Love Patzzi

8. Character seeks revenge either against his partner or partner’s parents. Green Rose, Bad Guy, Cinderella’s Sister, All In, All About Eve, What Happens in Bali

9. The story suddenly ends anti-climactically – most of the romance movies.

These being said, once in a while a cute story will emerge and renew my love for Korean dramas/movies. Here are some of my recommendations: My Sassy Girl, Goong, Antique Bakery, Autumn’s Tale, My Tutor Friend, Guns and Talks, 1st shop of Coffee Prince, and Kim Sam Soon. Find these titles at mysoju.com.

Happy watching!!!

What happened to the boys of Boys Before Flowers?

Katkat — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:09:15 +0000

Boys Before Flowers has ended a long time ago – the Taiwanese, Japanese, and Korean versions. I heard Mainland China is going to do their own rendition of the series. But what has happened to the gorgeous cast of this hit TV drama. Once in a while, I’m curious on the next projects of these handsome actors. Although their roles wouldn’t be endearing as their hit show, any glimpse of that beautiful face and adorable smile still brings the heart aflutter!

Here’s the latest news what I found over the internet about this cast:

Kim Joon aka Song Woo Bin. Kim Joon, both singer and actor, is busy with his concert tour with band TMAX. He is also the face of product endorsements for Omphalos and Samsung. He is also set to appear in a show called, Mnet Scandal.

Kim Bum aka So Yi Jung. The most charming of them all. He returns to the TV screen for his drama, The Woman Who Still Wants To Marry. He also starred in a 2009 movie titled, Emergency. Aside from TV appearances, tours, he also endorses a lot of products and is a familiar face in TV commercials and media print.

Kim Hyun Joong aka Yoon Ji Hoo. Juggling different and lots of projects at the same time, no wonder this guy is always reported of going to the hospital. More of a singer than an actor, Kim Hyun Joong is the popular leader of the music band SS501. It seems that among the F4 guys, he is the most popular because he recently received the award of Asia’s Best Star. Don’t you think he looks like Lee Dong Gun? At the moment, he doesn’t have any TV/movie projects and is concentrating more on his singing and TV variety show appearances.

Lee Min Ho aka Goo Jun Pyo. For me he’s the most handsome of the F4. This guy worked as a model before so it’s no wonder with his looks and well-toned body, he endorses many products and is seen often in commercials. He also models for a clothing brand.His next TV drama project is entitled Personal Taste, where he will try the role of a homosexual.

When Boys Before Flowers ended, I was wanting to see more of F4 particularly Lee Min Ho. However they didn’t jump into a new drama immediately after the hit TV series because they were busy promoting the series all over Asia. So now that the F4 drama fever has died down (eyebrows raised), I’ll be anticipating them in their next TV series.

Boys Before Flowers (Korean) – 5 years after

Katkat — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 05:36:26 +0000

My routine visit to mysoju.com surprised me with new videos from Boys Before Flowers drama. I thought the series ended at episode 25. I’m happy that the production would extend the story more since the last scenes of the last episode was really lacking in flair as a finale. Clicking on the link for the drama, I discovered that they were only music videos. Grrr. What a letdown. The videos showed F3 (yup only 3 because for unknown reason JiHoo is missing) reminiscing the past and each one was doing something in the present to conclude the video.

For me it was just a music video without any relation to what happened to F4 5 years later, which the video proclaimed. The cast wasn’t even complete – Jan Di, Ga Eul, and Ji Hoo weren’t present as a group. Although there is a JiHoo video which was more like a collection of scenes from the drama. And if this is really 5 years after the story ended, why did they set the story of the video in school? Oh well, as I’ve said it’s just plain music video. However of all the videos, I liked Kim Bum’s best. He is just so cute!!! I wish I was the one who received that lovely bouquet.

I wonder if the TV production will make a sequel of this drama. The previous Boys Before Flowers both had a sequel. I now know why this F4 group won’t be as popular as the Taiwan’s F4. It’s because they don’t sing and dance. Taiwan’s F4 made albums, commercials, concerts, etc. They extended their charms beyond the TV. Despite these, I would still watch out for Lee Min Ho’s future dramas/movies.

To go to the videos, click here.

Boys Before Flowers – the Korean version of F4

Katkat — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 10:03:22 +0000

I’m back to watching Korean dramas again. After consulting the crunchyroll.com forums, it has been voted that one of the most anticipated dramas this 2009 is Boys Before Flowers – the Korean live version of the Japanese anime Hana Yori Dango. Thanks to mysoju.com, I’m able to watch the latest episode of this drama series.

What’s Hana Yori Dango? It is the story of a middle-class girl who got in a fancy elite school and was able to cross path with the elite group of the school named Flower 4. Flower 4 or F4 are gods in the school – rich, handsome, and powerful. The leader took an interest on the heroine and the series depicts their school life/adventures together.

Hana Yori Dango has been brought to fame when Taiwan made a live version of it. Remember Meteor Garden and the famous real life F4? I remembered that almost all the girls in the Philippines were so fanatic about those 4 guys. From concerts to movies to music to pictures – we were hoarding them! Japan also made a live version of this series. I couldn’t say any review on it since I didn’t really watch it. I was turned off when the guys look girly and not too appealing. They were not at par with Taiwan’s F4.

Now Korea is the latest country to do a remake of this story. From the promotional posters, the F4 guys look cute! I’ve already watched the latest 2 episodes. Some details of the story are changed but the story’s formula is still there. The drama production is really good. Having watched the previous Meteor Garden, I kind of anticipate the sequence of events of each episode that somehow the Korean version is not as funny and endearing as the Taiwan’s version (but I guess it’s still too early to tell). My only wish is that the heroine should have been Yoon Eun Hye because I believe she can bring out the CUTE factor of the character! Do you think that Korean’s F4 loosely resembles Taiwan’s F4 in looks? Hmm…

Korean’s F4 – Boys Before Flowers

Taiwan’s F4 – Meteor Garden

Japan’s F4 – Hana Yori Dango

Anyhow, this is really a must-watch drama!

Animes and Asian Dramas

Katkat — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 01:01:23 +0000

I love animes. I grew up in the time of Dragonball Z and Yuyuhakusho. I still love Yuyuhakusho by the way. Then came Samurai X or Rorounin Kenshin. That show is my number 1 fave samurai/action type anime. When I came back from my 1st trip to the US, I got hooked on this Taiwanese drama – Meteor Garden. It also helped that the show had 4 really cute guys and the story was just so romantic and funny. I and my friends were devoted to getting all the music, all the news, all the TV appearances of the actors in this drama. The F4 mania was born.

Meteor Garden started the import of asian dramas particularly korean dramas. Who can forget the poignant and tearjerker story of Endless Love or Autumn in My Heart? My mom had a crush on Song Seung Hun while I loved Won Bin. Movies like My Sassy Girl and My Tutor Friend had me following the Korean entertainment world. I can’t decide which I have a crush on more: Won Bin or Kwon Sang Woo. Both are to drool for!

Then my friend suddenly “graduated” from korean dramas to japanese dramas. At first I was reluctant to watch a new and different kind of drama. But when I saw Takuya Kimura in Pride, I fell in love. So far I’ve watched almost all Takuya’s drama – loved him in Pride, loved him in Engine, loved him in Good Luck! My friend actually discerned that korean dramas are all about love and love triangles (very heavy dramas) while japanese dramas are about daily things in life, very light and makes you feel good in the end. Although some people might find Japanese drama weird because the japanese actors act like in animes – very quirky and over-the-top. But those are one of the things that make the show endearing.

Nowadays, it’s hard for me to discover good animes or asian dramas. My friends are not updating me anymore – am I the only one who is still stuck into this kind of pastime? Crunchyroll.com is a good source of animes and asian dramas. It has user’s review and synopsis of the shows so you’ll get a picture if it’s something that you would like.

Here are my top picks or all-time faves. (Note: my taste runs in romance, comedy, superaction and cute guys)

Animes:

Yu Yu Hakusho
Rorounin Kenshin – loved the soundtrack too!
Fruits Basket
Kareshi no Kanojo/ His and Hers Circumstance
Fatal Fury
Slam Dunk
Bleach – the first 80 episodes are the best!
Naruto and Naruto Shippuden
Death Note – only until Light Yagami surrendered his Death Notebook
Ouran High School Host Club
NANA

Korean Dramas:

Autumn in my Heart
My Lovely Kim Sam Soon
Coffee Prince
Goong
Stairway to Heaven
Sweet 18
Lovers in Paris

Japanese Dramas

Pride
Engine
Good Luck
Kimi wo Petto
Proposal Daisakusen
Hana Kimi
Gokusen
Nobuta wo Produce

Other Dramas:

Meteor Garden (Taiwan)
It Started with a Kiss (Taiwan)
My Tutor Friend (Korean)
My Sassy Girl (Korean)
Turn Left Turn Right (Taiwan)
Ringu/Ring (Japan) – the original version of the horror movie, Ring

I keep thinking I have forgotten some titles but this list is a good start.